


A Different Kind of Magic

by Sky625



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Culture Differences, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Foreign Language, Found Family, Growing Up, Homesickness, Hurt/Comfort, The Human Realm, Underage Drinking, mental health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28662735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sky625/pseuds/Sky625
Summary: A story about growing up, exploring yourself, and gaining a new perspective on what it means to walk in someone else’s shoes.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 20
Kudos: 79
Collections: Good Lumity Fics





	1. Chapter 1

There weren’t many things that made Amity Blight uneasy. The constant tension between her and her parents made life difficult, but few knew about her home life. Those that did, didn’t want to get involved for fear of making things worse for the Blight children. 

Failing classes or any assignment was unacceptable. Staying above the rest of her peers put her on good terms with her parents which made living with them tolerable. She also had some personal reasons behind these high expectations. If she didn’t give everything she had in her work it would feel like a reflection of her character. 

Today however, Amity was feeling uneasy for a different reason. Amity knew why. It had everything to do with Luz. 

The girl was a bubble of excitement and radiated childish wonder that was immature, sure, but was also surprisingly charming. She sees the best in everyone and always tries to help others and fix her own mistakes. She was impulsive, but there was a sweetness to it.

Amity shook her head. Shaking the distracting thoughts of the human girl that has been consuming the majority of the class period. 

‘I should be focusing on class in class, not lost in thought about a girl.’ Amity chided herself. She tried to focus on the professor in front of her. 

“Now, when forming your Abomination, you must be clear in your intent. You must have a strong desire for your Abomination to form and complete the task you assign your creation to perform.” He paused, looking out at the students furiously writing down notes.

Unfortunately for Amity, she already read over this material before this. It was a useful habit to read ahead in preparation for classes. It was like having a refresher course. It came in handy.

She glanced around the room, eyes trailing over all of the students in the room. Her eyes landed on the human girl. Luz’s eyes weren’t looking down at her paper but were staring straight ahead.

Amity frowned at this. This behavior was strange, even for Luz. She normally pays attention in class. She was absolutely ecstatic when it came to learning magic. However, here she looked like she wasn’t paying attention at all. Amity peered at the girl in confusion.

Looking down she saw that Luz’s hands were moving. Her left hand was over a black rectangle shaped object and her right hand was holding a small object which was moving along the rectangle. Amity squinted to see what the girl was doing but couldn’t make sense of it. What she could identify was the tiny popping sound that happened whenever she pressed down on the rectangle.

Amity was perplexed. What was Luz doing? And what is the purpose of this device she’s using? Unfortunately, Amity couldn’t ponder this any further because the bell let out it’s ringing scream, signaling the end of the class and that the school day was over. 

Everyone packed there books and other papers and made to leave. Luz opened up the black rectangle, opened her bag and pulled out a purple envelope. She quickly placed the a piece of paper inside and put everything back into her bag. With that, she quickly followed the rest of the class out the door.

Amity quickly packed her things and raced after the girl. The hallway was filled to the brim with students huddled together in groups chatting away and other students were walking in every direction. Amity scanned the crowd for any sign of the round-eared girl, but all of the hustle and bustle of the student body made finding the girl almost impossible.

“Fine,” Amity huffed. “I’ll ask her about this tomorrow.” 

With that, she steered herself to the school’s exit. She hade more important things to worry about. A mountain of school work and another evening with her loving family. Oh, what a joy that was going to be.

———————————————

It didn’t take long for Amity to get home. In a way, that was the problem. The walk home was nice at least. Despite the name, the weather in the Boiling Isles today was surprisingly pleasant. A warm breeze blew, carrying the subtle, sweet smell of slowly dying leaves. Fall was fast approaching.

Amity breathed in a contented sigh as she made her way down the road. Her house could be seen from along ways off. The towers of the house could be seen just above the trees. Looming over the landscape like a watchtower.

The sight sent a shiver down Amity’s spine. The estate was far too grand for her taste. The walls were made of stone which was thick and blocked out any sound from the outside world. The towers, which housed the family’s bedrooms, were high enough that you got queasy just looking out your window to the ground below.

“Home sweet home.” Amity murmured to herself. 

Entering the house brought up mixed emotions for Amity. On one hand, the house itself was always spotless. The staff of the house were very diligent about keeping the place as neat and sterile as possible. It was also home to delicious foods prepared by the cook staff. You never had to worry about going hungry here which was a relief.

Home had the adverse effect of feeling like a court room. There was a persistent feeling of constantly being monitored and critiqued. Every step, the cadence of your voice, and the clothes you decided to wear were put on a scale. Wherever you fell on that scale determined the kind of day you were going to have whether good or bad.

But Amity didn’t have to worry about any of that. When she looked around the foyer and sitting room, the hearth was burning brightly and filled the room with warmth. 

“Welcome home, Mittens.” 

Amity visibly cringed at the mention of her old childhood nickname. She turned to see her two siblings staring at her with an identical smirk on their faces.

“What do you two want?” Amity looked at her siblings intently. 

“We just wanted to tell you that out dear parents will not be attending dinner with us tonight.”

Amity’s mouth dropped. “What do you mean? Where are they?”

“It seems they were called out of town for a business trip.” Emira said.

“They are hoping to connect more with potential investors and other business tycoons. Trying to grow and develop connections, you know.” Edrick finished. 

Amity furrowed her brows in thought. “So that means we have the house to ourselves, then?” Amity looked at her siblings thoughtfully.

The twins’ faces stretched into wide grins. “Looks like it.”

Amity’s eyes lit up. The thought of having a few parent free days was one of those luxuries that shouldn’t be wasted.

Amity gave the mischievous twins a mischievous smile of her own. “Thank you for telling me.” With that said, Amity spun around and, struggling to reframe from skipping, and made a B-line straight to her room.

———————————————

In these rare instances of relative freedom, Amity was lost. She had no idea how to spend her time. There was studying. It wouldn’t hurt to spend some more time going over the material. She did have work to complete for school that needed to get done. 

“Okay, Amity.” She began, placing her hands on her hips. “As soon as you get this done, then the night is all yours to enjoy. Let’s do this!”

The thought of having a night free from the watchful eye of her parents gave Amity a boost of excitement. This excitement allowed her to race through her work at record place. Being at the top of the class may be stressful but it certainly had some perks because she was done in less than an hour.

Relaxing back in her chair, Amity let out a satisfied sigh of relief. “The night is mine now.”

Looking around her room, Amity looked at her bookcase which lined the back wall by her closet. It was filled to the brim with books of all sizes. Textbooks, autobiographies and memoirs of famous witches throughout the Isle’s history. There were even a few fantasy books hidden within the bookshelf itself.

Amity’s cheeks burned at the thought of anyone discovering them. She felt childish for having them. They weren’t exactly the most educational thing to she could be reading. 

“You know what? This is the time for self-indulgence and damnit I’m not going to waste it!”

A determined look on her face, Amity made her way over to her bookcase and took out the bottom left half of the lowest shelf and removed one of the loose boards in the back. Inside there were only a few books. It was Amity’s favorite children’s story: The Good Witch Azura. 

Amity grabbed the first book of the series, the cover showed the Good Witch Azura holding her witch’s staff. This book was her first love of the fantasy genre. 

“I need to thank Luz again for letting me borrow the newest book of the series.” She smiled tenderly at the memory. Luz was so excited to share her love of the series with her. 

Amity looked up in thought. “She did mention starting an Azura bookclub together. I should really get together with her and work that out. I’d like to spend more time with her.”

Amity froze. Her face flared to life as she thought of the girl. It felt silly to admit but she was really fond of the human girl. Facing Grom together, they really were a team then.

“Though, I didn’t really face my fear.” Amity looked down at the book again. Azura looked confidently back at her. This caused Amity to smile softly. 

“One day,” Amity told Azura. “I will confront that fear.”

She hopped on her bed and got herself comfortable. Opening up her book to the beginning Amity allowed herself to get swept away into the world of adventure that she loved so much.

———————————————

The sound of an alarm clock scream-beeping woke Amity up signaling that it was time to wake up for the day. Amity rubbed her eyes sleepily. 

Amity didn’t even remember falling asleep. She was so engrossed in the story that she didn’t realize that she lost consciousness. Although, that would explain the bizarre scenes she was seeing where she was watching Azura compete against a troll at a baking competition while answering riddles.

Sitting up, Amity stretched and let out a big yawn. She looked down at herself and grimaced. In her small act of rebellion she neglected to change out of her school clothes from the day before. Her hair was an unruly mess, her hair tie getting lost in her covers in the night. 

Amity got out of bed and made her way over to her bathroom to begin the day. She had school today and just because she was being a little rebellious doesn’t mean she’s going to play hooky. Well, she could at least think about it.

Half an hour later, Amity was washed, dressed, and already packed for school. She left her room in hopes of grabbing something quick to eat on her walk to school. Hopefully she could get lucky and grab talonrine. They were always one of her favorite fruits to have on a walk.

It didn’t take long for her to be out the door, her bag on her shoulder and a pinkish-purple fruit the size of her fist. It felt ripe and Amity’s mouth watered at the idea of it’s sweet and sour taste.

The air was crisp and the dun was almost fully risen. Shadows still danced along the ground as Amity made her trek to Hexside. It wasn’t a long walk. Maybe twenty minutes on a good day.

It was no time at all until Amity was at the entrance to Hexside. Students were already beginning to arrive. Several groups were standing around the gates of the school. Most likely groups friends waiting for other people.

Curiosity got the better of her. Amity peered through the student body looking for Luz. She knew that Luz liked to get here early and Amity wanted to walk to class together. It was the first class of the day. It only made sense Amity told herself.

She waited for a few minutes but Luz didn’t show.

“Maybe she’s already inside. Besides, I should get to class. I don’t want to be late.”

Amity walked through the metal gates towards the main doors of the school. The halls was already complete chaos. Amity paid it little mind and searched for her locker. It wasn’t far from her first class which was convenient since she could drop off any unneeded materials.

Opening up her locker, a giant mouth appeared and offered it’s tongue. Amity retrieved her books from her bag and quickly placed them inside. The living locker shut it’s mouth with a snap and Amity was about to leave before she stopped. A piece of paper was laying on her foot.

Amity picked up the piece of paper and looked at it. It was a small purple envelop. 

“Wait. I recognize this. This must be what Luz was working on yesterday!”

Amity looked around the corridor. No one was paying her any attention. She looked down at the envelop. It was here before I got here. That could only mean it was inside my locker.” 

She looked at her locker and then back to the envelop. 

“Why would Luz put this in my locker?” Amity said in confusion.

Deciding quickly, Amity let her instincts take over. She carefully opened the envelop and looked at what was inside.

There was a single piece of paper, the size of a note card. On the card were a series of dots in a perfectly straight line. It wasn’t anything Amity was familiar with. Was it a human thing? If so, why would Luz give this to me and what does it mean.As far as Amity could tell there wasn’t any pattern to the dots. They were in small groups evenly spaced apart. What they were, Amity couldn’t say.

“What is this?” Amity wondered aloud as the world moved on around her.


	2. The Purple Evelope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The purple envelop comes back! What could it mean, and what will Amity do about it?

Paying attention in class wasn’t especially difficult for Amity. She prided herself on her ability to remain focused and aware of her surroundings. It was a good trait to posses when you live in a world filled with monsters. Today just simply wasn’t her day. 

As the teachers droned on and on about their respected subjects, Amity’s mind was elsewhere. Preoccupied about the mysterious purple envelop she had in stowed away in her bag before rushing to class.

Amity didn’t know what this envelop was meant to be. There was nothing like it in the Boiling Isles. It must have been a human thing. It was weird to say the least and it certainly fit Luz’s character. Still, Amity was at a loss. She would discretely place her hand inside her bag to feel the envelop inside. There was no legible writing on the note. It wasn’t any kind of picture Amity has ever seen before. Amity wouldn’t have even guessed there was anything on the paper if not for touching it.

In the center of the page, Amity could feel very tine dotted shapes about the size of her fingertip. There wasn’t a lot of them. Nothing happened when you touched them. Honestly, Amity wasn’t sure what to do here. She didn’t think that Luz would give her something dangerous, would she? 

“Miss Blight. Are you still with us?” Came the potions professor, snapping Amity out of her investigative thoughts.

Amity flushed in embarrassment. “Damn you, Luz. Distracting me.” Amity muttered to herself. “Yes.” Amity said “I’m still here.”

The professor nodded and resumed their lecture. Amity fumed quietly in her seat. She was going to figure this mystery out. She needed to find Luz as soon as possible.

———————————————

The classes came and went without much incident. Amity had to pull her attention away from her bag multiple times. With some close calls, she managed to hold off until lunch. Finally! She’d finally be able to talk to Luz.

The cafeteria was always never a quiet place. And today was no exception. The roar of the students in conversation, the sounds of cutlery being scraped across the trays. The room was a bustle of activity.

Amity looked around the tables of her classmates and she spotted sitting with Willow and Augustus? No.Gus. He prefers Gus. Having her target in sight, Amity briskly walked over to the group’s table off in one of the far corners of the spacious room. 

The three friends were deep in conversation. Gus was nodding excitedly and hurriedly scribbling down notes as Luz dramatically was telling the two about something. Amity didn’t have the faintest idea as to what. 

“It is some of the best human desserts I have ever had in my life. The first time I’ve ever had it was one was on my birthday.” Luz said enthusiastically. She was practically vibrating with excitement. “A friend learned that it was my birthday late at night and at 11:00 o’clock at night, I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to find the biggest cake I’ve ever seen. Completely covered in fruits and cream and was dripping with milk.”

At hearing this, Willow perked up. “Milk?” One of her eyebrows rose questioningly. “Why would you use serpent’s milk on a cake?”

Luz covered her mouth in laughter. “No no no no.” She said, her eyes were slightly wet. “We use cow’s milk usually. It’s a large, four-legged animal with utters. They make an adorable sound.” She then demonstrated by making a low mooing sound in the back of her throat.

“Still,” Gus said, looking up from his notes. That’s a little strange.”

“Where I come from, this kind of thing is normal. I’ll tell you. My life was forever changed that day.” Luz’s eyes finally landed on Amity who was watching a foot away. 

“Amity!” Luz calked, waving. “Quit being a creeper staring at us all alone and come join us.” Luz patted the seat next to her.

Amity frowned. She didn’t really have the patience for this right now. The envelop, which was now in her pocket, was alerting her constantly of it’s presence. More importantly, the unknown meaning behind it.

“Actually,” Amity cleared her throat. “I was hoping to ask you a question Luz. I was hoping I could borrow you for a moment?” Amity’s confidence never wavered as she addressed the girl.

Luz’s eyes closed and she titled her head and smiled softly. “Sure.” She turned to her friends. “Do you guys mind?”

Willow and Gus looked at each other and shrugged. “No problem. I’m finished eating anyway. The plant track is meeting in the greenhouses next period and it takes a while to get there.”

“Yeah,” Gus wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Classes will be starting soon so you showing up actually works out for me, too.”

The two students grabbed their trays and left the table without another word.

“Now,” Luz said, looking at Amity. What is it you’d like to talk to me about?”

Amity looked around the still populated room. “I was actually hoping we could go somewhere a bit more private.”

Luz didn’t miss a beat. “Sure. Lead the way.”

———————————————

The two girls made there way through the school and all the way outside before they stopped next to the bleachers by the infamous Grudgby field. 

“How ominous.” Luz said. “You separate me from my friends and bring me to an unpopulated area far away from any living soul.” She smirked at Amity. “Should I be worried?”

Despite herself, Amity chuckled. “Hopefully not. I was just hoping you could explain this to me?” Amity pulled out the small, purple envelop from her pocket and presented it to Luz.

Luz looked at the envelop curiously. “So, you found it?”

“So you do know about this?” Amity questioned.

“Well, of course I do.” Luz crossed her arms. “I was the one who wrote it. 

“What is it then? I can’t make horns or tails of it. Is it a human thing?”

Luz’s eyes brightened. “Yes, indeed!” Her voice rose on the last word. “Not many humans no about it, though. Only a small group of people know about it.” Luz’s eyebrow rose. “So, have you figured out what it means?” 

Amity stood silently for a moment, feeling slightly dumbfounded. Her mind raced for any possible answer. What could it mean?

“I-“ Amity paused. “I don’t know.” She thought for a moment. “Is it an invitation to the Azura bookclub?” she guessed.

Luz smiled widely. “Nope! But that is a good idea. Thank you for reminding me.” Luz placed her hands on her hips. “Anymore guesses?”

Amity froze. Damn. She hated being wrong. She mentally kicked herself. ‘I can figure this out’ Amity told herself. Try as she might, though, she still couldn’t understand what the message could mean.

“I’ll give you a hint.” She gestured for Amity to come closer. Amity stepped forward and Luz covered the side of her mouth with her hand and brought it to Amity’s ear.

Luz whispered something into Amity’s ear. It was so quiet that Amity almost missed it. It lasted only a moment, but Luz softly whispered something in a language Amity didn’t know. Luz’s breath was so light and soft against Amity’s ear. Luz was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of her. Amity froze at the closeness, barely breathing as she tried to listen to the girl whispering in her ear.

And then it was over. Luz stepped back away from Amity. Her hands were behind her back as she watched the girl in front of her. “Do you have any idea now?”

Amity shook herself lightly, quickly regaining her wits. “No. That hint didn’t help me at all!” Amity was quickly becoming annoyed. She didn’t like games and she especially didn’t like knowing something. 

“Take as long as you need. I can wait as long as necessary.” She turned away from Amity and waved her hand as she went. “If you need another hint, don’t be afraid to ask.”

She left Amity there alone on the Grudgby field more confused than ever. “Well, that didn’t help at all.” Amity grumbled to herself. The thought of the young girl so close to her jumped into her mind. “At least we’ll be starting out bookclub together now.” That thought was a comforting thought, at least.

Her cheeks flushed lightly at the thought. Amity looked back at the direction where Luz went and walked in the opposite direction towards her next class. “This girl is going to be the death of me.”

If Amity could go back and not receive that note, she would. With the appearance of the note and then Luz whispering in her ear, Amity was doomed where concentration was concerned. Her mind was completely taken over by what happened on the Grudgby field.

There was only 15 minutes left of class and Amity couldn’t have been more grateful. Her ears were ringing with the words whispered delicately into her ear only a few short hours ago.

On top of that, Luz wasn’t affected at all. She just sat there in her seats taking notes. The rectangle from yesterday was nowhere to be seen. She had a smile on her face as she listened to the teacher intently.

Amity glared at the girl. Why did she have to put this on her plate now? And why did she have to make it so difficult for her? She knew nothing about the Human Realm and she was now tasked with deciphering a code with no resources or leads. The portal Luz used to get here was destroyed almost a year ago and there has been no progress in managing to fix it. Maybe there was another portal that existed, but there was no evidence to support that idea. Amity was stuck.

With no leads, a limited knowledge of the other realms, and a mystery to solve that depended on that knowledge has left Amity flustered and a little irritated. Amity lost all hope of paying attention in class. She had other things on her mind that didn’t have anything to do with potions. 

Hopefully her night would be easier than these past few hours. She was not looking forward to any unnecessary stress tonight. 

The bell screamed at them all, signaling the end of the school day. Everyone packed up and raced for the door, eager to get home to start their weekend. Amity sighed to herself as she exited the school. The weather was chillier than it was in the morning. The wind blew all around them, leaves flew about the streets.

“Amity! Hey Amity” someone called her name. Amity turned to see Luz, Gus and Willow rushing towards her. Luz reacher her first and tackled her into a hug, knocking the wind out of amity’s lungs. “I’m so excited for this weekend!” Luz squeaked with glee. 

“Can-“ Amity gasped. “Let go of me.”

Luz retracted her arms from around her letting Amity breathe normally again. “Thank you.” Amity panted. “Don’t do that again.”

Luz blushed sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m a hugger.” 

“What do you all have planned for this weekend?” Willow asked, her books were pressed to her chest in an attempt to shield herself from the cold.

“I’m going to be learning more about the Human Realm.” Gus exclaimed, puffing out his chest. “Luz promised me that she would show me some human relics from her realm. It’s going to be so cool.”

Luz wrapped her arm around Gus’s shoulder. “Well, I don’t know how cook these things really are. Most humans don’t pay these things much mind.”

“That’s what’s cool about it!” Gus said loudly. “Knowledge is power and I want to learn as much as I can about the Human Realm as possible. The more the better.”

Luz chuckled softly. Willow nodded approvingly. Amity was looking at Gus and Luz thoughtfully. ‘This could be my chance.’ Amity thought. ‘To learn more about the Human Realm. Maybe I can finally solve this mystery once and for all.

“Hey, Gus? Luz?” Amity began, cringing at how high her voice sounded. Clearing her throat she tried again.

“Would two mind if I join you. My parents are away in a business trip for a while and I’m feeling a little rebellious. My parents would kill me if they discovered me learning about humans.” She paused.

“Really? Aren’t you worried about getting in trouble?” Willow asked, concern filling her voice. 

“A little trouble never hurt anyone.” Amity said firmly.

“Well, all right.” Luz said. “The more the merrier. We’d be happy to have you.”

“Good.” Amity said, a feeling of tension felt like it was loosened. “I’ll see you all later. Message me the time and place. I’m going to try and enjoy another free night parents-free. Wish me luck.” She turned and made her way across the street towards home. A small smile on her face.

“This should be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry. The hints will make more of a central appearance in later chapters. If I reveal it too soon it would spoil the fun. 
> 
> Now that you know a little bit about the contents of the envelop, what do you think it is? Can you guess? I look forward to reading your guesses.
> 
> The next chapter should be finished later tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned. I hope you all enjoy this series as it progresses. I’ve had a blast writing it up to this point and I look forward to seeing where this story goes. I’m going to be just as surprised as you all.p because I have no idea how this story is going to develop. Oh, I’m so excited to find out! 
> 
> Bye for now.


	3. An Unexpected Development

Amity’s walk home was an uneventful one but she really couldn’t complain. She noticed a pep in her step when she was about a block from her home. The normal feeling of dread at the idea of going home wasn’t as strong as she would have expected. Her parents were gone for the foreseeable future and she had plans for the weekend with people she actually enjoyed. Things were looking up for Amity. Although, that could change in some unexpected way. 

The towers were coming into view from above the treetops. However, instead of the normally dark windows which reminded Amity strongly of peering eyes, was replaced with a soft, orange glow. 

“Huh. That’s odd.” Amity readjusted her bag on her shoulder as she looked up at the stone fortress that was her home with mild interest.

“Mother and Father can’t possibly be home. They would never bother with lightning up all of the rooms in the towers.” 

Amity’s face scrunched up in thought before her eyes widened in realization.

“You two. You best not be planning what I think you’re planning.”

Amity broke off into a run as she raced down the remaining block to the entrance to the manor. The metal gates were left ajar which only meant one thing. Amity huffed and was red in the fave when she opened the door to the house. Once inside she found her brother and sister standing in the middle of the sitting area having what appears to be a heated debate.

“No, Ed. You can’t possibly be serious?” Emira said hotly.

“Why not?” Shot back Ed. “It’s not like it would be difficult. We are magical after all.”

Amity looked between her two siblings, confused. “What for the love Titan are you two going on about?”

Emira’s face softened at the sight of her sister. “Hey, Mittens. Thanks for interrupting.”

Amity shot a glare Emiras way at the use of her nickname.

“It seems our dear brother wants to through a party to celebrate our parents absence. Charles told us when we walked in that our parents will be gone longer than expected. It seems their trip as turned more into a vacation of sorts, so they win’t be back for some time.”

Amity took a moment to digest this news. This was certainly an unexpected development. 

“Yes. You know how they are. Don’t get to happy. They expect a nightly phone call every night at 6:30. Just after dinner. They want to keep up to date on the goings on of our lives.”

Amity took in a deep breath. “Fine. That shouldn’t be too difficult.” She looked between her siblings once again. “Now why did I come home to find you two at each other’s throats? What are you planning?” Amity placed her hands on her hips, waiting.

Emira jumped in. “Our brother wants to throw a party and he wants to use the pool as a way of ‘relaxing’. I told him that that was a ridiculous idea since it’s getting cold outside.” Emira looked at her brother. 

“And I was telling our dear sister that we can easily put a spell on the water to warm everything up. It would so cool and would bring the party up to the next level.” Edric said with a pointed look at his sister.

Amity took a second to mull it over. “He is right, Em. You guys are more than capable of managing that, aren’t you?” She looked at her sister.

“Yes. Yes, we are.” She paused. “Wait. You aren’t going to stop us?”

Amity shrugged. “I mean, why would I? It’s not like I can honestly stop you if I tried. You two don’t listen to reason.” 

The twins looked at each other before beaming at her. “Awe. Our sweet, little Mittens is finally learning.” They smirked at her.

Amity’s face burned with embarrassment. “Don’t make me regret supporting this decision.” Amity warned, pointing a finger at her brother. “You don’t destroy anything.” She shifted her gaze to her sister and pointed a finger at her. “And you, if you do drink, don’t do anything that will get the cops called.”

The siblings looked to each other and back to Amity.

“No promises.” They smiled together.

Amity’s patience was wearing thin and she grumbled in irritation. 

“Since this is looking like a night that’s not filled with quiet, I think I’m going to got out with some friends.” Amity said with a look of certainty on her face.

She turned away and made her way up to her room before her sister calked to her. “Say hi to Kitty for us.” 

Amity’s face turned a brilliant shade of pink as she quickened her pace to her room. She had plans to make.

———————————————

Amity raced up to her room and quickly closed the door behind her. Breathing deeply, she allowed herself a moment to think.

Okay, Ed and Em were planning to have a party tonight. How they planned on getting everything set up in time, all the food and drinks, inviting people, and everything else that went into throwing a party, Amity had no idea how they would pull it off but they were Blight children. They could do just about anything if they set their minds to it.

An idea formed immediately in Amity’s head. It was just crazy enough to work. Deciding quickly, Amity picked up her bad and unclasped the front pocket and reached inside, pulling out her scroll.

She opened up her message tab and thought for a moment before typing out a quick message to a group thread.

‘Hi everyone. I know it’s last minute but would any of you be interested in coming to a party tonight that my siblings are throwing. It’s sort of their way of celebrating our unexpected freedom from our parents. I’ll check with Ed and Em to see when the party will be. This is sort of a spur of the moment invitation.’

Amity hit send. The familiar whoosh of the message alerted her that the message was delivered. Amity let out a pent of breath she didn’t realize she was holding and waited for a response.

Amity waited for a reply for several minutes. The longer she waited, the more impatient she became. Finally, after waiting a small lifetime, Amity’s scroll chimed.

Amity quickly grabbed her scroll and unlocked it to find a message from Willow.

‘I think I can go. I’ll just have to ask my dad. He’s the best person to ask if I want to do something fun. My father on the other hand... he’s a different story. I’ll let you know.’

A minute later another user responded. ‘I might be able to swing it if I say its for studying. Is it for studying?’ Gus asked.

Amity snorted and shot him back a quick ‘Sure.’ Immediately after that a new messaged made it’s way through.

This one was from Luz. ‘Um... of course! I’ve always been curious about your home. I pretty much guarantee that Eda will let me go. Lilith might object but she’s not my mentor. I’ll check with Eda to make sure.’

Amity smiled brightly. Things were good so far. She just needed a little more information first. Amity put away her scroll and followed the hallway down to the stairs. Her siblings were right where she left them. 

“Hey! You two.” Amity called from above them. They turned and looked up at her. “When’s the party tonight?” Amity asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

The twins shared a look. “We thought you were going out to night.” Edric said.

“Change of plans. If you are going to be throwing a party I am going to at least try and enjoy it. I’m inviting some friends from school. When will this all take place?”

“Um,” Emira started. It’s almost five now. It will take us a while to get things organized, and we can’t forget our phone date with mom and dad at 6:30. I would probably say some time around 7. Gives us some time to recharge from the family before guests arrive.”

Amity’s eyebrows raised at that. “Is that everything?”

Edric looked between his two sisters. “Yes, I think that’s a good plan.”

“Great!” Amity said cheerily, her eyes brightened considerably at the news. “I’ll let everyone know the game plan.” She turned back around before she could stop herself, Amity found herself running through the halls. A wide, goofy grin was plastered on her face that she couldn’t wipe away. 

Getting to her room she quickly told everyone the time of the party. Luz responded instantly with a ‘What a shocker. Eda says I can go. She says this will be some good “Bad Girl’s Coven” practice and that a party is a great way of doing something illegal.”

Willow responded in turn with, “Wow! What a great role-model.”

‘I know! Isn’t she great!’ Came Luz’s reply.

‘Gus’s messages came in rapid succession. Good news!’ another, ‘My dad said I could go.’ and another, “I’m so excited! This is going to be so cool.’

Willow was the last person waiting for a response. As if on cue, her message came through.

‘My dad said it was fine for me to go out. If my father asks, I was never there. I’ll say I was staying over at Luz’s or something.’

As Amity read the thread of messages, her mood soared to new heights. Her whole body felt like it was on fire with nervous energy and overwhelming anticipation. Amity couldn’t believe she was even going through with this. A party? It was so unlike her, and it was like her siblings. ‘Titan. They really are rubbing off on me.’ Despite that horrifying thought, Amity couldn’t find it in herself to care at the moment.

She couldn’t wait for tonight. All she had to do was get through the upcoming call with her parents. Then, and only then can she then begin to enjoy the night. 

———————————————

The idea of Amity’s friends made it easier to bear when 6:30 finally arrived. The manor was loosely decorated with multi-colored lights and and there was a large table spread out with a whole manner of different foods and drinks. Most of the dishes were familiar to Amity, having had them several times during her parent’s extravagant parties. There were, however several dishes that Amity didn’t recognize.

“One of our chefs found a human cookbook in the market and suggested we try some of these new human foods.” Edric said, looking at the food with interest. 

“Apparently, these things are called pretzels. I think it’s just roasted dough with spices.”

Amity looked at the food with skepticism. “What’s that?” She asked, pointing to some shining looking strips of meat.

“I think that’s called candied meat?” Edric frowned. “I’m not sure why humans like this, but whatever. If it tastes good, who am I to judge?”

Amity frowned. Humans really were strange. 

Emira came into the dining room, she wore a simple pair of blue jeans which were ripped along the knees. Her shirt was just a plain black short-sleeve. All in all, she looked like a regular teenager. She certainly didn’t look like a member of high society. 

“Are you guys ready for the call?” Emira asked.

Edric and Amity shared a look and sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

The three siblings walked over to the wall scroll which hung in the hallway by the dining room. Emira unhooked the scroll and punched in the number. She pressed a button and the previously inaudible chiming sprang to life, filling the silent hall with noise.

A moment later the ringing stopped and a man’s voice answered. “Hello?” The voice was deep and level.

For a moment, no one spoke. “Hi dad.” Emira said cheerily. “How is the business trip going? I trust everything’s going well?”

“Poorly.” Their dad’s voice said. “Your mother is not at all pleased with the trip. Let’s just say there are less than savory people on this trip. Your mother is obviously displeased. I will let her speak to you in a moment. Your teachers have informed me that you have projects coming up in your Illusions class. I expect nothing but excellence from the two of you.” Their father’s voice was stern but not unkind.

A beat of silence followed his words. “Amity? Are you there?”

Amity’s brain short circuited for a moment. Edric tapped her lightly on the shoulder, snapping her out of her stupor. “Y- Yes, Father. I’m here.” Amity’s voice shook slightly but her father luckily didn’t seem to notice. 

“Boscha’s family contacted me earlier today. They’ve informed me that you haven’t been as social with their daughter. I expect this to change. She is a good asset for our family. You know this. Whatever issue you might have with Boscha best be dealt with.” Her father paused. “Don’t disappoint me.”

Amity looked down at her feet. “Yes, sir.”

“Very good. Ah! Here is your mother. Good night children.”

There was a few seconds of silence before a new voice broke the quiet.

“Hello sweethearts. I’m so happy you decided to call tonight.” 

The siblings remained quiet as they waited.

“Your father and I will be away from home for the foreseeable future. I expect you all to be on your best behavior and represent the family well while your father and I are out of town.”

Sounds of acknowledgment came from the children. 

“Don’t do anything foolish while we are away. Don’t embarrass the family in any way. If you do, I will know about it. You best remember that.” Their mother’s voice, which dripped with a sickly sweetness in the beginning, now held an icy edge. 

“Yes, Mother.” The three children said in unison.

“Good.” That was the last thing their mother said to them before the scroll clicked and the call was dropped. 

“Well,” Emira said quietly. “That was pleasantly traumatizing.”

“Yeah.” Amity and Edric said together. The mood between the siblings was thick with tension.

“Let’s.” Amity whispered. “Let’s get everything ready for the party. People should be arriving soon.”

———————————————

It wasn’t until 7:30 until people began showing up to the Blight manor. The large gates were left open and was strung with lights which gave the foreboding house more of a welcoming feeling.

Amity looked out her window to the ground below, looking through the crowd of people approaching. A quick scan of the crowd revealed that Luz and her friends were nowhere to be seen. ‘Everything’s fine.’ Amity told herself. ‘They’ll be here.’

Amity looked out the window again. A small group appeared from behind the gate. Willow, Gus and Luz were standing there, their faces obstructed by the darkening sky. It was unmistakable them, though. Amity was certain. One of the people in the group was wearing a tuxedo vest and a frilly pink tutu. That bizarre combination of clothing was all the proof Amity needed. Luz was the only one brave enough to be seen like that.

Amity raced down to greet her friends. Making her way downstairs and out the door was a breeze. She had people to meet. As soon as her friends saw her, they all immediately dashed over to greet her. Amity should have expected this to happen. Luz didn’t stop in front of her like Amity thought. Instead, she barreled into her at full speed. Knocking the wind out of her lungs for the second time that day. 

“Oof.” Amity gasped. Luz wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight.

“Thank you so much for inviting us. This is going to be so exiting.” Luz said, excitedly. “My first non-school witch party!”

Amity smiled at that. Luz was far to excitable for her own good. Amity looked at the rest of her friends and made a come in gesture. “Let’s go have some fun.”

The four friends turned towards the house and into the throng of people that was filling up the house. This was going to be a very interesting night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a bonus chapter for today. I wanted to make this a bit longer and get this section out of the way now. The next chapter will be fun to write. I might need to update the tags to include warnings of alcohol and possible drug use. I’m not sure yet. We’ll see how this next chapter goes. 
> 
> We finally get to meet the Blight parents. Oh boy! That was fun to write. Abuse in any form is hard to write about sometimes. There will be more. In order to capture the full picture and develop the characters further, this is a tragic reality that needs to happen. I’m sorry in advance for any issues this may bring up for any reader. Abuse is hard to read about and is even harder to experience. 
> 
> Next time! We get to see the Blights throw a party. What sot of shenanigans will everyone get themselves into?
> 
> Bye for now.


	4. The Blights Throw A Party

The house was already a bubble of activity and the party has only just begun. Several groups were already forming, friends hugged, clapped each other on the shoulders, and exchanged bouts of laughter as greetings. The house has never seen this much genuine happiness in a long time.

And Amity? Well, she was stunned. Everyone around her was older than here. That wasn’t weird. She’s attended enough of her parent’s parties to be used to being surrounded by older people. This, this was different. These guests were her peers. Closer to her own age, and she even attended school with most of them. Though, she didn’t know any of their names.

If Amity was shocked, that didn’t come close to topping Luz’s reaction. The girl’s eyes were as wide as saucers and they seemed to shine with childish wonder and fascination.

“Wow!” She whispered. “This is-“ she trailed off, speechless.

“I know.” Amity said looking out at all the people. “This is a party.”

“Um, guys.” Gus said inna rather small voice. “Do any of you have any idea what it is we are supposed to do?” He looked around the place nervously. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Luz shrugged. “Beats me. In the Human Realm I snuck into a party once.”

Everyone turned to look at Luz. “Really?” Willow said, sounding shocked.

Luz crossed her arms. “Well, kinda. I sort of,” she waved her hand, searching fir the right words “Snuck in.”

“Why would you do that?” Amity asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Well, in the Hunan Realm parties are seen as this “right of passage” and I never experienced one before. I wasn’t the most,” Luz paused again. “Well liked kid in my hometown.” Luz looked down at the floor for only a second before saying, “So I decided that I would secretly sneak into one of the parties one of my human classmate’s older sister was throwing.” Luz’s face broke into a mischievous grin. “It’s all about blending in. You have to look like you belong.”

“And how did you do that?” Gus asked, he looked slightly less nervous now.

“I might of, sort of, dressed up as a goose and snuck in through the backyard.”

The group stood there speechless. “I- how?” Willow stuttered out. “What made you think that would work? How does dressing up like a bird help you better blend into humans?” Willow’s voice was accusatory, but her voice did falter in an effort to not laugh.

“I was a secret spy. I was covered beak head to flippers in feathers with a ski mask. I was invisible.”

“Did it work?” Gus asked, curiosity spiking.

“It was for a while. But that changed when I tried to do a silent roll to some bushes to find some cover. It was dark and I didn’t notice being walking by as sneaking around. I ended up rolling into my classmate’s sister and accidentally knocked her into their pool.”

The group was silent again. The absurdity of the situation made them all lost for words. “That is the most Luz thing I have ever heard.” Amity said as she started laughing. The rest of the group quickly joined in until they were all doubled over in laughter. Amity wiped tears from her eyes. “Were you caught.”

After a moment of wiping her eyes Luz said. “Surprisingly, no. I just stood up, looked around, and yelled as loud as I could. “Hey! Someone fell in the pool. The next thing I knew was a swarm of people coming over to see what all the commotion was about. In the chaos I just slipped away without being noticed.”

Gus gasped in disbelief, “No way!”

“I’ll tell you. I never went back to that house again.”

Willow and Amity shared a look before Willow said, “Let’s try not to have a repeat of that, okay?”

Luz smirked at Willow. “That sounds like a challenge.” 

———————————————

It didn’t take long for the party to escalate. The house was already packed with people and was spilling out on the lawn. Groups were talking together and snacking on the feast of appetizers the twins had spread put. Almost everyone had a cup in their hands. From the smell, everyone new it was some flavor of alcohol. Cups littered the ground, and some were stacked haphazardly on tables.

The party was in full swing. Music played loudly in the background. Although, you couldn’t really hear much of anything over all of the people making such a racket. A group of witches were actually doing a performance where one person was juggling fire and another was throwing more fireballs at him which the juggler would catch, adding to increasingly larger number of fireballs. 

Emira and Edric decided to create a spectacle of their very own. It started simple enough. Emira would use her magic to lift up a mouthful of some drink or another and the other person had to manage to catch the sphere in their mouth or risk getting a drink thrown in their faces.

Emira would create a sphere of a drink and toss it into Edric’s awaiting mouth. Next, Edric did the same. The game started off pretty harmless at first. But it quickly evolved and got progressively more extra. Emira would toss the ball higher, Edric would fire one back but in a random direction. The game drew quite a crowd. People hooted and watched as Edric lost his balance and fell on his back. But somehow, he still caught Emira’s projectile shot. He scrambled to his feet and gave out a cry of victory. The crowd exploded with applause. The twins faces were a light shade of pink, exhausted and more than a little tipsy. They bowed low dramatically.

Elsewhere in the manor, other groups mingled and talked loudly and openly. Mostly about relationships and other various activities older teenagers got up to when they weren’t under the watchful eyes of their parents. Amity, Luz, Willow and Gus watched the shows with amusement and listened to everyone’s conversations, not particularly eager to jump in, having nothing to contribute.

Everyone looked a bit nervous. Each of them held a cup in their hands. No one even tried to stop four underage kids from taking the drinks. Poor Gus. This was his first ever party and he was not prepared for all of this “adult behavior”.

“My dad would kill me if he saw me here.” Gus said, his cup shaking slightly. No one had taken a drink yet.

“You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to.” Willow said, eyeing the contents of her own cup. “I don’t think I will either.”

Luz frowned. “When I was lurking in the bushes at that human party, it pretty much looked like this. Groups would drink together, talk together, and just be.” She paused, thinking. “I don’t know. Friendly. Anything could happen at one of these parties.”

The group looked around at the other guests. Everyone was taking sips from their drinks, some people were sprawled out over couches and chairs. A girl was even sitting on a handsome boy’s lap and didn’t make any attempt at moving.

“Should we try this?” Luz asked, looking down at her cup. “Join in the fun?” Her voice did not project any ounce of confidence.

“On three?” Amity suggested, squeezing her cup a little tighter. 

“One,” Luz began.

“Two,” Amity whispered.

“Three!” Everyone said together. Each of them took a sip of their drink. It was fruity but there was a harsh, burning to it. It was nothing like grape juice, at all. Amity’s eyes watered as she swallowed, the liquid burning her throat as it went down. She gagged.

Gus coughed harshly and Willow shuddered violently. Luz was the only one that managed to keep some composure. “Are you okay, Luz?” Willow asked, tears were in her eyes. 

Luz turned to look at her friend. “I’m fine.” She said in a high-pitched voice. Her cheeks were lightly flushed and burning. 

That caused everyone to laugh. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Amity said surprised.

“Yeah!” Gus exclaimed. “I mean. We all survived!”

“We are officially adults now.” Luz declared, raising her fist. She puffed out her chest in mock confidence. 

“I don’t really feel all that different.” Gus said, looking down at himself.

“A bit anticlimactic, really.” Willow muttered. 

“Well, we did it.” Luz said, triumphantly.

Amity frowned. “Hang on. Luz, didn’t Eda say we are supposed to do something illegal when we’re at a party?”

Luz shrugged. “That’s what Eda says. Any ideas?”

The rest of the group shrugged in unison. Before anyone could say anything else, someone nearby cleared their throat.

“Amity!” A girl’s voice said. Amity turned and saw Boscha and Skara walking over to them. Boscha stopped a foot away from the group, her three eyes traveled between Amity and the rest of the group. “Don’t tell me actually invited these people to your house?” Boscha’s eyes lingered on Willow and shifted over to Luz.

Amity’s voice remained calm when she spoke. “Of course. Their my friends. Why wouldn’t I invite them?” Even though her voice remained level, Amity’s grip on her cup tightened.

Boscha scoffed. “I thought you would have come to your senses Amity. Associating with people below you will only bring you and your family down. Why jeopardize that?” Boscha looked at Skara, who glared in the Willow’s direction.

Willow, having sensed the rising tension, tried to mediate the situation. “Thank you for stopping by Boscha and expressing your opinions.” Willow’s tone hardened at the word ‘opinions’. “But we were having a pleasant conversation before you came along. So, if you don’t mind, we would like to get back to that.”

Boscha’s mouth fell open. Never in her life had anyone from school talked to her in such a way. Even the teachers treated her with the utmost respect. She certainly wasn’t expecting this from Half-a-Witch Willow of all people.

Boscha glared at Amity. “Are you going to let her speak to me like that?” Anger filled her words. 

Amity looked at Willow and then to Boscha. She shrugged. “She’s right. We were having a conversation and you rudely interrupted.” Boscha’s face fell at that. “Also,” Amity you continued. “You insulted my friends in front of their faces. Why would I defend something like that?”

Boscha was absolutely shaking with range by now. Her pink face had hardened like stone. Her hands hanging at her sides were tightly clenched into fists. When she next spoke her words were dripping with venom.

“You have no idea what you’ve just done.” Boscha glowered, staring daggers at Amity. She turned quickly and stomped off, Skara followed without a word.

The group was quiet for a moment before Luz broke the silence. “I think I know what illegal thing to do tonight.”

———————————————

The party went on without much incident. It was nearing 9:00 o’clock and the party didn’t appear to be slowing down. People were dancing in the foyer to some kind of rock music. Everyone was waving their hands and cups in the air. Some of the illusion track students conjured up some colored lights and had them flying above the crowd, which caused people to radiate different colors. It felt like being in one of those clubs you hear about from adults in the market. 

“¡Oh Dios mío!” Luz said, looking over the banquet of food. “You guys have everything!”

Amity smiled at the excited girl as she watched Luz eagerly take a pretzel. “One of our cooks found a human cookbook and decided to give it a shot.”

Luz took a huge bite and groaned in pleasure. “Es tan bueno!”

Amity raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Come again?”

Luz quickly swallowed her mouthful of food. “Sorry,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I just said these are so good. I haven’t had food from my realm is such a long time. I’d almost forgotten what this tasted like.” Luz took another bite and smiled gleefully to herself.

Amity frowned at that. Luz didn’t talk about the Human Realm all that much anymore. Then again, why would she? The portal that brought Luz to this realm was destroyed. For intents and purposes, Luz was effectively trapped here. Amity shook herself. She couldn’t even imagine what that must be like.

Amity’s frown turned into a resolute smile. She didn’t know much about the Human Realm, but it was important to Luz. She’s given up so much, and she’s worked her ass off to learn everything about Amity’s world. The least she could was meet her halfway. Show her that someone cares about her and her world.

Amity looked at the table of food and picked up a pretzel that was poked through with a stick. She looked over at Luz. Holding out her pretzel stick, she said, “To trying new things?”

Luz smiled warmly and touched her half eaten pretzel to Amity’s. “To trying new things.” They both took a bite of their pretzels.

The pretzel was warm and buttery when Amity bit into it. There was salt on the surface which gave the toasted food a nice flavor. It was unlike anything Amity has ever tasted before. The food didn’t stir at all when touched and it had a pleasant aroma which was surprisingly inviting.

Amity groaned in pleasure. A thought came to Amity’s mind. What did Luz say earlier? “Tan bueno!” She said brightly.

Luz turned and looked at Amity with an odd expression that Amity couldn’t place. Luz smiled widely and said with such happiness, “Oh, Amity. ¡Eso fue tan lindo!”

Amity stared at Luz. She could have sworn she heard her name in whatever Luz had said.

“Please don’t put a curse on me.” Amity said, pointing her pretzel at the girl.

Luz only laughed at her before taking another bite of her food.

“By the way.” Luz said after a few minutes of silence. “Were you any closer to figuring out that card I made for you?”

Amity froze. She was hoping to avoid this. In truth, Amity wasn’t anywhere close to figuring out whatever it is Luz wrote for her. She was so distracted by the unexpected party and scroll call with her parents that she’d almost forgotten about it. Also, the hint Luz gave her on the Grugby field didn’t help either.

Amity sighed. “No.” She looked down at her shoes before saying, “But I haven’t given up yet.”

If Luz was disappointed, she sure didn’t show it. In fact, she smiled. “Great! If you figured it out too quickly it wouldn’t have been nearly this fun.”

Amity crossed her arms and glared at Luz. “You aren’t just fucking with me, right?”

Luz gasped dramatically, placing her hand over her heart. “Who? Me? I would never!” She gave Amity a little smirk. “Honest.” A glint of mischief in her eyes.

Amity thought for a moment. “You keep giving me hints that make no sense to me. I’m not as familiar with human customs like you are. How am I supposed to give you an answer? I’m at a huge disadvantage here!”

Luz only smiled at this. “Espèce d'idiot adorable. Tu as de la chance que je t'apprécie.” 

Amity froze. Did Luz just call me an idiot? “What did you just say?” Amity asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

Luz laughed again. “I just said trying looking in a book you adorable idiot.”

Amity’s face burst to life. A-A- Adorable? Did she really just say that? Amity’s mind was reeling and she was sputtering like an idiot. Her initial panic soon disappeared when her brain caught up with her. “Did you just call me an idiot?” She said, accusingly at Luz.

Luz chuckled. “Yep! An adorable one.” She flashed Amity a toothy grin. 

Amity couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

“If you want to learn more, just come by the Owl House with Gus tomorrow. We were talking about having a crash course in the human culture while we were walking over here. You expressed some interest about some human things earlier. I was going to ask you about it to see if you were still interested.”

Amity’s face paled. The Owl House wasn’t a place she particularly enjoyed visiting. The house demon which guarded the place didn’t understand boundaries or personal space. Amity shuddered at the thought. Though, if going to the Owl House meant getting closer to solving this mystery, well then, Amity was determined to see it through.

“I’ll be there.”

Luz closed her eyes and gave her a warm smile. “I knew you would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter was hard to write. I wanted to keep things fairly tame in the beginning. Nothing too out there. I’ve only been to a couple of parties and they weren’t exactly enjoyable, so writing about my experiences when thinking about this chapter was difficult. I liked how it ended, though. 
> 
> I’m sorry this chapter took so long to write. Parties aren’t really my thing, so I was stalling. The next chapter should be far smoother so please stay tuned in for more!
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome and encouraged. I can only get better as a writer if I receive feedback from my readers. Thank you for reading this story and showing your support. It truly means a lot.
> 
> See you all soon. Bye for now.
> 
> Spanish translations:  
> “Eso tan bueno!” (This is so good!)  
> “Tan bueno!” (So good!)
> 
> French translations:  
> “Espèce d'idiot adorable. Tu as de la chance que je t'apprécie.” (You adorable idiot. You’re lucky that I like you.)


	5. A Crash Course in Human History

Amity woke up the next morning groggier than usual the next morning. The party went on for much later than she anticipated. Her stomach felt empty despite eating half her weight in food only a few hours ago. Luz had Amity try several unfamiliar foods that Amity was sure she was going to pop when she crawled into bed later that now.

Now? Well, moving was out of the question. Amity had no intention of moving at all. In fact, the only indication that anyone was even in her room was the large bundle of blankets bunched up on her bed. Amity liked the warmth and darkened space of her makeshift cave. She felt like a wilderbeast sleeping deep in their caves.

It never clicked for Amity until now just how oddly she slept. She often found herself scrunched up into a tiny ball. Her feet tucked into her chest and her arms were underneath her body. She was a piece of freshly folded dough ready to be baked. 

Amity groaned lowly to herself. Her stomach made a sound of protest. “So comfy.” She said sleepily as she nuzzles her head against her pillow. It felt like snuggling up against another person. Amity relaxed even further. That thought was so comforting. The security, the intimacy. Everything was safe here.

Her peace was short lived, however because her scroll on her bedside table began to buzz wildly. Amity flipped over slowly and poked her arm out of the confines of her blanket fortress and groped for her phone lazily. Her fingers grazed the surface of her scroll snd she quickly retreated with it back into her fort.

“Hello?” Amity said, stifling a yawn. “This is Amity.”

“Amity!” A voice yelled through the device, startling Amity. “Are you just getting up? It’s after 9:00 in the morning. You said you’d be here around 9:00. Gus and Willow are already here.”

Amity blinked a few times, the girls in her head moving a slower pace than normal. “I’m sorry. Who is this?”

The voice on the other end of the call giggled softly. It’s Luz silly.”

“Luz?” Amity said, still in a stupor.

“Yes, Luz. You know? Luz the Human, your fearless champion!”

That did it. Just like that, everything clicked into place in an instant. Amity sat there wide-eyed. “Oh, Titan. I’m late!”

“I’ll say.” Luz’s voice sounded cheery. “Now get your sleepy, little head over here. I miss your face.” The line went silent.

Amity jumped out of bed as quick as a flying griffin. She was on autopilot as she grabbed an outfit from her closet, combed her hair while trying her best to put her other shoe on her other hand. Everything was such a rush. Nothing really registered for Amity. After a moment of confusion and the coldness of her bare feet alerting her to her mistakes, Amity quickly corrected them and was out the door without any further issue.

Amity ran as fast ad her legs could carry her. The air outside was biting and cold. The cold season was definitely coming and Amity was paying the price for it as she dashed down the road and through a back trail of some woods. About a block or so in the Owl House came into view.

“Hi!” A shrill voice greeted her. “What’s the password?”

Amity stopped dead in her tracks. “Password?” Amity asked, confused. “What do you mean password?”

The house demon didn’t say anything since a loud crash interrupted them. “Knock it off, Hooty. Let the poor girl in.” An older woman’s voice came through the door.

“All right. Fine. Always spoiling my fun. Hoot!” The demon said, it’s face scrunched up in frustration before it swung open it’s door.

Amity quickly went inside. The nip in the air and the annoyed demon spurring her on.

The inside of the house was as she remembered it. Candles lined the room, casting a warm light over the space. A large wanted poster hung behind the torn up old couch. A cauldron in one of the corners was stirring something furiously. The contents inside bubbled softly. Amity looked around the room and found Willow and Gus sitting on the couch. They both had a cup in their hands. Willow noticed Amity first.

“Amity!” Willow said brightly, giving the other girl a small smile.

Amity gave the girl a small wave. “Morning. Sorry, I almost completely forgot that we were meant to meet today. I’m sorry.” Amity looked away, embarrassed. 

Willow shook her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. The bed demons can be pretty persuasive when they want to be.”

“Where’s Luz?” Amity asked, looking around the room.

“Oh, she’ll be down in a minute, I’m sure. She said she had a surprise planned for us and told Gus and I to stay down here.” As if on cue, something big clambered down the stairs. 

“Don’t worry. Luz is here!” Luz said excitedly. Ever a one for grace, Luz trips over her own feet and tumbles to ground. She quickly recovers and jumps to her feet. “I’m okay.” Luz turns and sees Amity standing next to the door. “Hey!” Luz exclaims. “There’s the little sleeping beauty. I’m glad you could join us.” Luz smiles at her brightly.

Amity blushes slightly in response, not sure if it was from the compliment or being singled out for sleeping in. Amity didn’t have long to ruminate about that because Gus just couldn’t contain his excitement before he blurted out. “So what kinds of human things are you going to show us, Luz? Also, is it really true humans can change their appearance at will? Can you show us?” His excitement was palpable as he practically vibrated with energy. 

Luz laughed, “No, we can’t change our appearance at will. We can do some amazing things with plastic and other items to alter our appearance, though.”

“Like growing wings or scales?” Gus asked, eagerly.

“Not quite that extreme. I’ll will talk to you about that with you later.” Luz looks at her three guests. Before we can really begin to dive into anything human, I think a history lesson is needed.”

Amity, Willow, and Gus looked at one another with confused expressions. They weren’t prepared for this. They weren’t expecting anything too out there. Willow spoke up first. “Um, what kind of history lesson?” 

Luz beamed, “Oh, you know. Just a few things. The formation of my home and the basics of our political structure. All of the nitty gritty stuff. A fight for independence, political rivalries, and the creation of our alliances and conflicts with much of my world. You know, the basics.”

This did nothing to quell any of the group’s trepidations. That sounded like a lot of information to cover on the first day. Everyone looked around nervously. Even Gus looked a little nervous, and he absolutely adores anything to do with humans. A voice called out in the other room, breaking the uneasy feeling that settled in the air. 

“Don’t overwhelm the poor prep schoolers, Luz. Don’t have them running for the hills before you even get started.” Eda, The Owl Lady walked into the room carrying a massive bag over her shoulder. King followed close behind.

“I won’t Eda.” Luz confirmed. “I’ll ease them into it no problem. By the time you and King get back I’ll have them up to speed. At least for the first 50 years or so.”

Amity looked a little anxious. What has she gotten herself into? “Wait.” Amity pauses looking to Eda. “You aren’t staying? Where are you going?”

Eda cackled, startling the young witches. Luz didn’t even flinch. “Like I’d be caught dead learning something. That’s not going to help me make any money here.” She adjusted the bag in her hands. “King and I are going to avoid this place like the plague. Besides,” Eda looks down at King. “I need an extra pair of hands to help me do a little bit of stealing. My inventory’s getting pretty low and it never hurts to keep up a good skill.”

King climbed up Eda and perched inside of her wild mane of gray hair. “And I can sleep on the way to the market.” He disappears into Eda’s wavy locks.

“You kids don’t try anything stupid.” She smirks. “And if you do, be clever about it.” With that Eda left without another word.

“Okay.” Luz said clapping her hands together. “Who’s ready to hit the books?” She looks between her friends expectantly.

Willow smiled nervously. “I guess we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

“Great!” Luz said, her ever present enthusiasm making another appearance. “Before we begin, I need to grab a glass cup.”

———————————————

Once Luz grabbed a large glass cup from the kitchen, Amity had no idea why that was necessary. What was a glass cup got to do with a history lesson. Her question was immediately answered when Luz pulled out her human scroll thing and activated it. She looked at her friends. “I, Luz Noceda, have the esteemed pleasure of introducing you to a fine piece of human culture that tells our long and difficult story.” Her voice was low and dramatic. “A story of war, freedom, love, and loss.” With a flourish, Luz brought up her device and hit a button. She quickly placed the rectangular instrument into the cup. The music that played instantly rose in volume.

The music kicked off. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. 

And just like that, they were all introduced to the characters of this production. The main character, Alexander Hamilton and several of his friends and allies joined in the beginning song. The group was confused at first, they didn’t have a background in this kind of thing. They didn’t have the exposure and experience that Luz seemed to have. She was tapping her feet and fingers to the beat and mouthed along to the words. Her eyes were closed and she just got swept up into the music.

The songs progressively got more upbeat and dramatic. Wars were playing out in a matter of minutes. Gus jumped in fright when something called a canon exploded. No one spoke as the songs played out.

Amity was captivated. Not by the music so much, but of Luz’s reaction to them. A couple of times Amity caught Luz’s eyes sparkling with un-fallen tears as the characters sang about freedom and camaraderie. How they fought together against the enemies of the story, the British, which was governed by an evil sounding King. Amity shuddered at the thought, it reminded her a little too much some people in her life.

Then a song came on that took Amity’s breath away. A pretty woman, Angelica, Amity things her name is, was giving a toast to her sister and Alexander’s wedding. Her voice was angelic and so filled with energy and sadness. Both for her sister and herself. Luz swayed back and forth as she listened. Her lips matching perfectly with the rhythm of the song. She even matched the intensity of the sung dialogue between Angelica, Eliza, and Hamilton. She didn’t do it verbally. She couldn’t seem to bring herself to speak. No, she conveyed her tone and feelings in her eyes. In her sways as she kept time with the music, like a metronome perfectly in sync. 

Amity was stunned. How important was this story to her? This normally rambunctious and enthusiastic bundle of energy was as silent as a dreamless sleep. Only her movements told a story. A story of hope, melancholy, and unbridled courage. Amity was in rapture at the sight. 

The songs continued on. More characters were being introduced left and right. A very flamboyant sounding man by the name of Jefferson flounced into the picture and an almost immediate rivalry formed between him and Hamilton. Meanwhile, unrest and constant disagreements was building between Burr and Hamilton. Jealousy at the other’s success and silent hatred brought on by political interferences and harsh words from the two parties. Neither backing down from a fight. 

As Amity listened to the remaining part of the musical, how Burr’s bitterness and Hamilton’s outspokenness and brash behavior and self-preservation lead the two into a duel. A duel which Hamilton lost by Burr. Hamilton died only a few hours later. The same way his son died before him.

Amity was speechless. Memories of the covention flashed in her mind. The jealousy she felt towards Luz and the hatred she harbored for her for cheating her out of a rightful victory. It all came rushing back in waves. How stupid had she been? She was so caught up in all of the bitterness that she was wiling to do just about anything to get to the top. If she had continued going down that path, then, then her friendship with Luz, with everyone. If might have never happened.

Amity’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Thank you.” She whispered softly. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.” A tear fell down her cheek which she hastily wiped away. 

The musical ended with Eliza singing. When the final note was sung, and the musical came to an end, nobody spoke. After almost a minute of silence Luz spoke up. “Thank you for listening with me. My mamí and I used to listen to this all the time together.” Luz goes quiet. “I needed that.” Luz wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Willow and Gus stood up and stretched. “I never thought that humans were so violent.” Gus said, taking out a small notebook and pencil. “To think there was so much internal conflict between everyone. I never would have expected there to be so much hardship.”

“Yeah,” Luz said quietly. “It was a wild ride.

Willow looked at Luz and then back at Gus, a thoughtful look flashed across her face. “Thank you so much, Luz for sharing a piece of your history. I look forward to next time.” She took Gus by the arm and spoke with a bit more enthusiasm. “Well, I better head home before my dads start to worry about me. Come on Gus.” 

Gus tries to protest but is pulled harder by Willow. They leave quickly leaving Amity and Luz alone. For a moment, no one spoke. The either not really knowing what to say. 

Amity was filled with too many emotions to really form any coherent sentences. Luz didn’t look much better. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were downcast. No one spoke. No one even tried. The two just sat in silence together, the fire being the only noise in the room.

Slowly Amity moved closer to Luz. She moved quietly until she sat right next to Luz. Luz’s hands were together in her lap, and she didn’t look at Amity.

Amity frowned sadly. Seeing her friend anything but happy and carefree made her heart ache for the girl. Amity couldn’t think of anything to say that could lighten the mood. Instead, she slowly reached out placed her hand onto of Luz’s. She gave it a gentle squeeze.

Luz didn’t move. Her expression didn’t change. Amity was about to pull away before she felt Luz give her hand a weak squeeze in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter that I’ve written so far. I didn’t cry at the end. Honest. I had so much fun writing this and I hope you guys like it too. My heart is smiling so much right now. 
> 
> The musical was heavily condensed. If I provided descriptions of the entire piece I’d likely still be writing. References will be included in later chapters to fill in any gaps that were important. Also, I’m re-listening to the music after months of not listening to it because of this chapter. Wow, I missed it so much.
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated. I’m so excited to see where this story goes.
> 
> Bye for now.


	6. A Bookstore Adventure

Amity really didn’t understand what compelled her to do what she did next. Amity didn’t expect her act of affection to be reciprocated. Something so simple as a hand squeeze shouldn’t have been that important to her. But, seeing Luz in this state. The usually charismatic girl that always had joy in her smile. To see her look so devoid of that joy, especially from something that brought her such happiness, that was heartbreaking. 

Amity’s heart ached, her hand still resting in Luz’s. Luz’s skin was soft and warm. Amity smiled softly at that. 

“Come on.” She said standing up, her hand never leaving Luz’s.

Luz looked up, confusion very apparent on her face. “What?” She asked.

“Let’s get out of here.” Amity pulled on Luz’s arm, pulling her up until she was standing.

“Why?”

Amity didn’t even hesitate. “My friend is hurting and I’m taking it upon myself to cheer her up and show her a good time.”

Luz looked at her, she frowned. “What if I don’t want to do anything?”

“Too bad.” Amity said simply. “Because I’ve decided that we need to do something. And it might take you a while to warm up to that idea, but it’s happening.”

Amity didn’t give Luz anytime to respond or protest as she pulled the girl by the hand and out into the world. It was a good thing Amity wasn’t looking in Luz’s direction, otherwise she would have gotten a very perplexed, yet intense, glare.

The two girls just went out into the world. The other not knowing where they were being dragged off too, and the other was equally clueless. It was an adventure and they were going on one whether they wanted to or not.

———————————————

Spontaneity was not something Amity was accustomed to. Her life was pretty much school and training in preparation for her future career set by her family. Her father followed in the footsteps of his father and his father before that. A time honored tradition that every Blight was expected to follow. Serving under the Emperor.

Amity never really met her grandfather. He died when she was very small. She didn’t know that much about him other than that he served as the Emperor’s first councilor when Belos assumed the throne 50 years ago. Her grandfather was also a respected witch in his own right. He trained Amity’s father and Amity was brought up the same way. 

Amity never bothered with doing anything unexpected or out there since it could have negative repercussions to the family and their standing in witching society. So, it would have come as a shock to find Amity pulling a girl by the arm to an unknown destination unknown even to her. No plan. No expectations. No concern for appearances or the opinions of others. Amity had a job to do and she was going to do it right.

The air outside was warmer than it was before. There was still a slight nip in the air, but it was pleasant. Amity led Luz by the hand, down the road away from The Owl House, and they didn’t stop until they were within the town. 

Monsters of every shape snd size lumbered about, exiting and entering various shops that were scattered about. Amity’s eyes darted around, searching for anything that caught her attention. A sign hung over a small building. The sign read: Reader’s Paradise in big, red letters. Peaking her curiosity, Amity dragged Luz in the direction of the store.

The two girls entered the store, which smelled strongly of age and dust. Shelves lined all four of the walls and there were a set of two tables which were placed a little off-centered in the middle of the room. A desk was only a few paces from the front door. A short man with gray streaks in his hair was sitting quietly at the desk, a book in his hands. 

“Um,” Luz says, “Look, I’m all for adventure, but,” She pauses. “Why a bookstore of all things?”

Amity didn’t have an answer to that. She was in uncharted territory here. She just picked the first place that looked anything resembling interesting. But she wasn’t going to let Luz know that. This is all apart of her plan. She just didn’t know what the plan actually is. ‘Roll with it.’ Amity thinks.

“Are you kidding?” Her voice takes on a cheery tone. “This is the perfect place to be. Look,” Amity points to the man at the counter. “He looks like he’s having the time of his life. Let’s give this place a chance. I’m feeling confident that we made the right choice coming in here. If we don’t like it after 10 minutes, we can leave. Okay?”

Luz nods mutely. Amity needs to fix this right now. She quickly walks over to the nearest shelf and looks up at the signs posted above them. 

“It looks like they have a surprisingly big selection here. Look, they have fantasy, horror, comedy, romance. Just about everything you could ever be interested in.”

Amity walks through the aisle, looking at the different titles which were visible. The Rise and Fall of Vampires, The Tales of Isles: The Lost Years, Dragons and How to Tame Them. Amity read each title aloud as she saw them. At the last one, Luz actually perked up a bit. “I didn’t know there were dragons here in the Boiling Isles.” 

“They used to be. I’ve heard that they used to be all over the Boiling Isles about 2,000 years ago. No one has seen any trace of them since then.”

Luz looked thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder why they left.”

Amity sighed. “No one really knows why they left. They were beautiful creatures. It was said that they were easily the size of small mountains. Some were even said to be much larger.”

“That’s so cool.”

“It was.”

Silence fell between them. Luz broke it quickly, though.

“You know, humans have all sorts of legends about dragons, too.”

“Really?” Relief flooded Amity, grateful to see Luz in a better mood.

“Yeah. There are hundreds of stories about them in my realm. How they were fierce creatures who hoarded gold and other plunder from the people they robbed. They would then pile up all of their treasure and use it like a bed. Anyone caught trespassing either got eaten or burned to a crisp.” Luz’s voice took on a darker tone. They were terrible and beautiful creatures.”

Amity stared at Luz in a mix of awe and slight terror. Just how similar were their two realms? There was so much still foreign to her about Luz’s home. 

“Do you want to keep looking around?” Amity asked tentatively, still not fully convinced that her Luz was feeling 100 percent herself.

Luz smiled and nodded. “Sure, why not?”

The two looked all around the shop for anything interesting. There were several genres to explore, most of the options available were unfamiliar to Luz. There weren’t many books that were books out there that existed in both realms. As far as Amity knew, The Good Witch Azura series was the only one. 

In truth, Amity was a little overwhelmed. There were so many books to choose from. Despite the analysis paralysis Amity was experiencing, Luz appeared to be in a much better mood. Her smile returned as she walked through the store. Thank the Titan for that.

“Amity? Amity!” Luz called from an aisle away. “Amity, come here. Quick!” 

Amity was in the middle of reading an interesting description of a book about Abominations, who, with the power and influence of a Wilde witch, tried to conquer the far off lands of the East. Amity hastily put the book she was reading back on the shelf and hurried to find Luz.

“What is it?” Amity found Luz standing in the middle of an aisle. A book was in her hands. “¿De ninguna manera?” Luz whispered just barely audible for Amity to hear.

Amity walked over to her. “What did you find?” Luz turned the book over where the title was in view. The cover showed a book standing in the middle of a stormy sea. Clouds covered the skies and large building towered over a populated city.

“I didn’t know they had this book in the Boiling Isles!” Luz squealed. “Oh, no puedo creerlo.” 

“What is it?” Amity asked again.

“It’s The Lightning Thief.”

Amity furrowed her brow in confusion. “That didn’t really explain anything, Luz.”

“It’s a story about the gods of my world. Kind of like the Titan is in your world. Humans all over the world. Human civilizations had whole religions dedicated to all of these old and powerful people. They were highly respected and feared in my world. How? How did this get here?”

Amity shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mind. I’ve never been to the Human Realm. I don’t even know how to get there.”

Luz looked down at the book in her hands. I have more homework for you. She shoved the book in Amity’s hands. “I want you to read this. I don’t have anything from my home that the people here know about. The Good Witch Azura counts, but that’s not a whole lot, you know?”

Amity considered this. Luz looks so happy right now. Her eyes are bright again. This was all the convincing Amity needed. “I’d love to.”

Luz practically tackled Amity in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you! Thank you!” She let go. “You won’t regret it. I swear.”

Amity blushed, still not used to such open displays of physical affection. She didn’t know if she ever would get used to it. “It’s your turn now. You need a book of your very own. 

Luz smiled at Amity, something flashed in Luz’s eyes that Amity didn’t recognize. “I actually found something that I’m excited about.” Luz pulled a book from the shelf. The book was the size of a textbook. The thickness was absurd, being about a quarter the size of Amity’s arm. The book was a green color with swirls of red and white. It said: An Oxford Italian-English Dictionary. 

Amity looked at the book and then back to Luz. “A dictionary?” Amity asked bewildered. “Why do you need something like this?”

Luz’s cheeks flushed pink. “I couldn’t help myself. It’s such a beautiful language. I just couldn’t say no.”

Amity gaped at Luz, her mouth hung open in shock. “There’s a whole language in that book?” Amity couldn’t believe something like that was even possible. “H-How many languages are there in your realm?” Amity asked, stammering in astonishment.

“So, so many. Thousands, I think.” Luz answered simply. 

Amity gawked. “Thousands! You can’t be serious?”

Luz laughed. “Dead serious.” 

Amity’s mind reeled. The Boiling Isles was no stranger to multiple tongues, but it was rare to hear any of them in use. If you wanted to hear anything other than Amity’s own tongue, you had to travel hundreds of miles to other lands. But that was an uncommon thing for people here to do.

“How is this book even here? This language doesn’t even exist in my realm.” This didn’t make any sense. What’s going on here?

Luz shrugged. “Beats me. The gods my just be smiling diwn on me. Oh! Maybe I’ll find out that my father was a God or something. That would be so cool.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Maybe it was just coincidence or something. Amity was skeptical, though. She decided to set that aside flr now.

“What does this language even sound like?” Amity asked, curiosity rising quickly. 

Luz readjusted the book in her hands. She looked amused at Amity’s reaction. “I only know one phrase. I don’t know anything more than that.”

Amity couldn’t help herself. “Can I hear it?” She blurted out.

“Sure. Please don’t laugh at my pronunciation.” She was quiet for a moment, thinking carefully. “Okay. You ready?”

Amity nodded, her interest was very high.

Luz cleared her throat and she spoke the phrase. Ot sounded like a song without any instruments to accompany it. “Mi piaci.” Luz said, her voice rising and falling as she pronounced each syllable.

The sound was musical and beautiful to Amity’s ears. She didn’t have a clue what it meant but it sounded romantic. Like a whole love poem in only a few words. “What does it mean?” Amity asked curiously.

Luz laughed softly. “I can’t tell.” She eyes glittered with mischief that Amity has only seen from the twins so many time before. 

“Why not?” Amity said, suspicion in her voice. 

“It wouldn’t be fair if I told you, now would it?” Luz gave her a toothy grin. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you can figure it out. After all, this is your test after all.”

Amity paled. How could she have forgotten? The test Luz set out for her? She’s barely thought of it. The party, the history lesson, this outing with Luz. It has completely stolen her focus. How many clues does she have now? There’s the phrase Luz just said, the whisper on the Grugby field, and, what else? Amity thinks before realization dawns on her. The card! 

Amity fidgeted nervously. Her palms felt hot and sweaty. She didn’t know how to answer this riddle. There was still so much she didn’t know. How could she answer it standing her. It was getting late. She needed to get home soon before. She froze.

“Oh shit! What time is it?” 

Luz looked confused. “Um, let me check.” She feels her front pocket. “Hm. That’s weird.” She checks her other pockets. “I don’t actually have my phone on me. Its back at the Owl House.”

Amity went even paler. Her heart rate increased quickly, her heart pounded in her chest. She fiddled with her back pocket and pulled out her scroll. “Oh no! It’s almost 6:00!”

Luz’s eyebrow raised. “Is that bad?”

“Yes!” Amity said louder than she wanted to. “What do I do? What do I do? I can’t be late! I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

“Calm down, Amity. Take a deep breath. We can figure this out. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth deeply and slowly.”

Amity couldn’t focus. She couldn’t think straight. She tried to do as Luz instructed. She breathed in deeply through her nose. She tried to let it out slowly. She did this several more times before her her heart rate slowed to a reasonable rate.

“My parents want my siblings and I to call them at exactly 6:30. I can’t miss that and I can’t get home fast enough.”

Luz digested this news and thought carefully. “Isn’t your brother and sister apart of the Illusion track?”

Amity frowned. “They are. Why does that matter?”

“I was thinking they could create an illusion of you to take your place. Could they do that?”

Amity thought for a moment. “I’m not sure.” She said slowly. “I need to call them. Hopefully they can help me out without too much convincing.” Amity brought up her contacts in her scroll and brought up her brother’s info. She took a deep breath and hit the call button. The scroll range several times before her brother answered.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite little sister. To what do I owe the pleasure of this quite unexpected call?” 

Amity flushed in annoyance. “Cut the act, Edric. I have a question.”

“I have an answer. Let’s see if they match.”

“Can you and Emira make an illusion of me that can fool our parents. I won’t be able to make it home in time tonight.”

“Oh! Who are you with?” Amity could hear Edric smile.

“It’s none of your business who I’m with.” Amity said hotly.

“I’m sure Emira and I can help you out.” Edric pauses. “For a price.”

“Fine. Fine. I’ll do anything.” She hastily adds, “within reason.”

“That’s the right answer. I’ll let Emira know when I see her.”

Relief washed over Amity. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, and Mittens? Say hi to Luz for me.” The line went silent.

Amity’s cheeks flashed pink. Damn her brother. She looked over to Luz who was watching with concern. “They’ll cover for me. I don’t have to worry so much now.”

Luz let out a breath. “Good. I was worried that I’d have to hide you in the cellar if the hounds came looking for you. I hate it when that happens.”

Amity looked at her quizzically. “Is that another human thing?”

“Yeah. Our history is pretty messed up when you think about it. The good news here is that you aren’t a slave so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh,” Amity felt uneasy hearing that. “Your word is pretty dangerous, isn’t it?”

Luz shrugged. “It’s better in some ways now than it was before.”

Amity sighed. The Human Realm was sounding more and more like a place she really didn’t want to see.

———————————————-

Luz and Amity checked out their books from the elderly salesperson. He was an absolute delight, making their experience quite enjoyable. He rung up their order and signed them up with their very own library cards. This would make any further check-outs quicker and easier in the future.

Luz and Amity walked out of the store and looked around. “What should we do now?” Amity asked, her bag which held both hers and Luz’s books. 

Luz thought it over. Looking up at sky, the sun was lowering, causing shadows to spread quickly over the streets. Luz’s face brightened, an idea popping into her head.

“I think I have an idea.”

———————————————-

It didn’t take too terribly long for Luz and Amity to walk back to The Owl House. Hooty greeted them excitedly.

“You’re home!” Hooty cried as he stretched himself to meet the girls. “You were gone so long. I was getting worried about you.”

“Aww, thanks Hooty.” Luz beamed at Hooty. “We missed you, too.”

Amity snorted quietly to herself. She wouldn’t say that she missed Hooty. Honestly, there was something that rubbed Amity the wrong way. She shuddered at the memory of Hooty touching her face with his whole self.

The girls entered the house where Eda greeted them.

“There you are! I was wondering where you ran off to, kid.” Eda was sitting on the couch, her feel were resting on the table in front of her. King was napping on Eda’s lap.

“Hi Eda.” Luz greeted, the door closing behind her. “Sorry for disappearing. Amity here dragged me out of the house and took me on an adventure.” Luz smiled widely. 

Eda snorted. “An adventure, huh? Sounds like I missed one hell of a time.” She grinned at the girls, her golden tooth poked out of her mouth. “Did you two have fun?”

“Oh, yes.” Amity said. “We found a bookstore in town. It was really cool. We actually checked out our own books.”

“Oh, how boring.” Eda said, pretending to yawn. “Why do I always get stuck with nerds for company?”

Luz laughed at that. “Actually Eda, I was hoping to ask something.”

One of Eda’s eyebrows raised. “Okay, shoot kid.”

“I was wanting to know if it would be okay with you if Amity and I had an impromptu sleepover? Amity’s parents are out of town for an unspecified amount of time.”

“I’m working on being more rebelliousness against my parents.” She doesn’t break eye contact with Eda, but her voice does soften slightly. “Is that okay?”

Eda didn’t take long to decide. “Meh, it’s fine by me. I went to school with your parents and even back then they were a piece of work. Anything to go against them is okay by me.” She smirked at Amity. “Took you long enough, kid. I wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long as you have. We can make a Bad Girl out of you yet.”

Amity and Luz looked at each beaning. “Thank you!” They both said together.

“Don’t make me regret doing this. If you do, I’ll steal your tongue,” she points at Luz, “and I’ll steal your left ear.” She pointed at Amity.

Amity gulped, she didn’t want to be on the Owl Lady’s bad side. The Emperor’s guards were scared of her. She was someone who didn’t need to be messed with. That’s it. I’m going to die Amity thought to herself. She was beginning to regret her decision. This better be worth it. She would kill Luz if it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, a sleepover. What’s going to happen here?
> 
> I will be reading the Lightning Thief again in preparation for next chapter. I’ll start and finish it tomorrow. Screen readers are revolutionary.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated as always.
> 
> Bye for now.
> 
> Spanish Translations:  
> “Oh, no puedo creerlo!” (Oh, I can’t believe it!
> 
> Italian Translations:  
> “Mi piaci.” (I like you.)


	7. Sleepovers and Answers

Amity and Luz walked up the stairs to the second level of The Owl House, the old stairs creaked under their weight as they climbed. Amity’s only seen the inside of Luz’s room only a few times before, but it always happened during the day. Amity thought about that. This is really happening. Sweet Titan, this is really happening! Amity’s mind raced with nervous thoughts. What would it be like to spend the whole night with her?

Amity didn’t have long to internally explode before Luz opened the door to her bedroom. Luz looked at Amity and made a dramatic arm motion. “Bienvenue dans mon sanctuaire.” She went inside.

The inside of Luz’s room hasn’t changed terribly much since Amity saw it last. The floors and walls were mostly bare, but that wasn’t what caught Amity’s eye. In the corner sat Luz’s bed. It was small, but it was certainly an improvement to a sack on a floor. Next to her bed sat a wooden bookcase, an upside down glass and a lamp rested there. A small desk and chair sat next to it. The bookcase itself looked like it had seen better days. The wood was scratched terribly and the color was faded with age. Books lined the shelves from top to bottom, leaving very little space for anything else.

Luz walked into her room and sat on the edge of her bed. Amity blinked in shock. Despite the few changes the room received, the new additions completely transformed the place, making it look more cozy than before.

Luz smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company. I would have tidied up if I knew I was going to have guests.”

Amity blinked in confusion. The place really wasn’t bad at all. Sure, the bookcase was suffocating, but that didn’t mean it was messy. It meant that it, well, used. Appreciated. It was actually quite charming, really if Amity was being honest. It certainly put her book collection to shame.

Amity walked farther into the room, placing the bag she’d been carrying on the tiny desk. “What are you talking about?” Amity said feeling puzzled. “If this is dirty, I can’t imagine what a clean room would look like for you.”

Luz chuckled. “It’s best you not find out. It would ruin my reputation as wild child. I can’t have that, now can I?” Luz crossed her arms smugly and smirked.

“I suppose not. It is a very important image that must be maintained.” Amity teased.

Luz looked at Amity. “So, what should we do now? I don’t think it’s time to eat just yet.”

Amity frowned, considering her question. An idea sprang in her mind, she smiled. “There’s always our Azura bookclub?” Amity offered.

Luz beamed at her, “That’s the right answer!”

Luz leaped from her bed and quickly went over to her bookshelf. She crouched down to the lower shelves and began searching frantically. “Ah ha. Found it!” She pulled out a green book and showed it to Amity. “The Good Witch Azura, book 1.” Luz said.

“Where would you like to begin? There’s so much to talk about. Who’s your favorite character? What do think about Azura’s and Hecate’s dynamic? Do you think it’s realistic based on the characteristics both of them have displayed so far in the books? How do you think it will develop further?” Luz’s questions came out in rapid succession, she only slowed down when she had to take a deep breath. Amity held up her hand to silence her.

“Well, Hecate is probably the most interesting character to me. She has had a difficult life, she’s had to make a lot of really hard decisions that not many have had to make. She’s meant to be seen as this bitter and cold villain, but she’s also shown to have a much softer side when it all comes down to it. As for, Azura and Hecate’s dynamic and whether or not it is realistic, well. “She pauses, choosing her words carefully. “Azura has a funny way of seeing people as they are and understands more than they realize.”

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” Luz says quietly.

“Exactly! So, I think the author knew this and will develop their relationship further as the series continues. Progressive, difficult, and positive change.”

Amity smiled, pleased that she answered all of Luz’s questions. Amity looked at Luz expectantly, waiting to hear her what she had to say. “Well? What do you think?”

Luz took a moment to respond, a thoughtful expression fell upon her face. “Well,” she began, mulling over words. “I’m a sucker for a good protagonist, someone who has their own personality that the reader can watch develop over the course of the story. Not some fill in the blank character with no substance, I’m not into that whole “insert yourself into the story” thing. I think that Azura is a good example of this. She grew up from humble beginnings and when push came to shove from an outside force threatening her home, she’s put in a situation where she has to make choices that have real consequences.” Luz pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“We see Azura go through her journey, she makes mistakes and people get hurt because of her decisions. She has to learn from them in order to mature and grow as a witch. Seeing her discover magic for the first time, we get to see how her power has changed her, for better or for worse.”

Luz remained quiet for a moment. “When Hecate came into Azura’s life, she was an obstacle, someone who has done terrible things in the past. I agree with you, I think Azura knows there’s more to Hecate than just her wicked deeds, there’s light inside of her. It just needs some encouragement to come out.”

Hecate’s also a badass and has a backbone which Azura could really use sometimes. I think they balance each other out. Their presence in each other’s lives is good for them. They could learn a thing from each other. So, yeah. I do think their relation is realistic since we’ve seen both of them develop into powerful and capable witches because of their interactions in the other’s life.”

Their conversation continued like this for a time, neither of them noticed how much time has passed until they heard a knock on the door.

“Hey you two,” Eda called from behind the door. If you want to eat you best do it now, it’s getting late and going to sleep on an empty stomach is an accident just waiting to happen.”

Amity looked to Luz who looked her. “How long have we been sitting here?” Amity asked. Luz grabbed her human scroll and clicked a button, bringing the device to life. “Oh, cramity!” Luz exclaims. “It’s almost 8:00pm.” She shows Amity the screen. 

Amity was floored. It hadn’t felt like they were talking for that long. 20-30 minutes tops. Her stomach growled hungrily which caused Amity to blush in embarrassment, she didn’t realize how empty her stomach felt. “Maybe we should eat something.” As if to answer her question, Luz’s stomach let out a loud growl of her own. “I think that is a great idea.” Luz said. They both got to their feet and walked out of Luz’s room to the kitchen in search of something to eat.

———————————————

The girls returned to Luz’s room a little while, their bellies full of griffin ham and basilisk cheese. That sandwich was to die for if heated up on shriek-flour bread with a tablespoon of fat that Luz refused to know where it came from.

The girls were in Luz’s room again. “What should we do now?” Luz asked, plopping herself down on her mattress. Amity laughed at her goofiness. “Before we do anything, I need to get my bedding all put together. I have a feeling we’ll be up until sone late hour and I’d rather have everything ready to go now instead of when I’m so tired that I can’t even perform a simple light spell.”

Luz perked up at that. “Yeah, of course.” She kicked her feet out and pushed herself off of her bed. Luz smoothed out the sheets and quilt until it was nice and neat. She looked at Amity. “Here you go!” She chirped. 

Amity looked at Luz and then at the bed. “I can’t possibly do that, Luz. That’s yours, I wouldn’t feel right taking it.” Amity’s mind was short circuiting right. It took everything in her to say anything. Declining was the only thing she could even hope to muster.

“Well, I don’t plan on using it tonight. It’s yours if you want it.” She walked over to a door which must have been a closet.

Then, where would you even sleep?” Amity said in confusion.

Luz pulled out a rolled up sleeping bag. “I prefer pallets anyway. More comfortable for me. The floor has been my bed for a long time. I just got used to it.” She looked at Amity. “Unless you want to sleep on the couch downstairs or wake up in the middle of the night with me spooning you, I’d suggest you take my bed.” Luz laughed at Amity’s expression. Her face was beet red and she stammered out, “T-Th The bed’s fine, thank you.” Amity’s mind was screaming. What was with this girl? 

“Good choice. Can’t say I’m not disappointed, though. My stuffed animals at home tell me I’m a great cuddler.”

It took everything in Amity’s power to stay where she was. If she did anything she might have bolted out of the room and never look back. Somehow she managed, “That’s nice.”

Luz laid out her sleeping back and grabbed a pillow from her bed. “Mine.” She hugged the pillow tightly like a child before placing it down at the head of her make-shift bed. She turned to face Amity. “Um, Amity?”

“Yes, Luz?” 

Luz blushed, “This is going to sound really nerdy, but would you mind if we sat down for a while reading our new books? I hate to leave a book unopened for too long. It feels disrespectful to the book.”

Amity’s pinched in confusion. “You checked out a dictionary. How much reading can you possibly do?”

“I can have a hobby.” Luz pouted slightly, her lips puckered up a little. “It’s just something I enjoy doing. I love beginning a new language like this and my phone isn’t exactly the most reliable thing here in this realm. I can only go so far with computer translation. Google can be wrong a lot of the time.”

Amity didn’t have the slightest clue what Google meant, but the look on Luz’s face was all the convincing she needed. Amity smiled kindly to her. “That’s fine by me.” Grabbing the bag a foot away, Amity pulled out her book. “Besides, I have some homework to do.”

Luz lit up almost instantly. “Gracias! Merci beaucoup.” Luz paused, blushing. “Sorry, I meant to say thank you.”

Amity looked directly at Luz. “I don’t understand you at all, Luz.” Amity didn’t understand a lot of what Luz said most of the time. She was full of strange human sayings that Amity didn’t understand, and she would always slip into a language Amity didn’t understand at all whenever she was excited about something. Which was often. That’s it, Amity decided. Before this sleepover was over she was going to solve the mystery of Luz’s card. 

Luz walked over to her desk and pulled out a notebook and pencil. “For note taking.” She said as she pulled out her massive dictionary and opened it up. “All right, Luz. Let’s look for some simple nouns and common verbs.”

Amity just stared at the girl. She was familiar with her own language but she didn’t know what noun or a verb would mean here. The Boiling Isles didn’t have any of these concepts as far as she knew. Maybe they did and they just had a different word to say something similar? Titan, the Human Realm was so different.

Taking this as her opportunity, Amity walked over to where Luz was and sat down next to her. Amity looked Luz, her eyes were locked on a page, she could see her eyes traveling up and down the page. Every now and then, she would stop and write down something in her notebook. Amity looked down at Luz’s book, the page looked like complete gibberish to her. However, that didn’t seem to deter Luz as she flipped through the pages, muttering under her breath.

Amity decided to open up her own book. If Luz was going to study, she might as well do some studying of her very own. Amity flipped through the book until she found the first page and began reading.

The writing style was pretty simple, almost like a child was the one writing the book. Which Amity supposed was fitting considering the main character was in fact a child.

The main character, Percy Jackson, was a troubled kid, and he was on a field trip with his school to a museum. Right off the bat Amity could tell this kid was a troublemaker; picking fights, a temper, and a scatter-brained personality. Truth be told, he reminded Amity a lot of Luz. Except replace a bad temper with misplaced enthusiasm. 

Amity was surprised to learn that, as she was learning, so too were the students in her book. She learned that there were several types of gods, the Big Three being Zeus, the ruler of the gods and controller of the skies, Poseidon, who ruled the oceans, earthquakes, horses, which confused Amity since they didn’t exist in the Boiling Isles. Then there was Hades, the ruler of a place called the Underworld, a place which did not sound like a place you wanted to be in if the name was any indication. Hades was responsible for the dead of all the souls on Earth, which Amity guessed was where the Human Realm was centered.

“This is so interesting.” Amity said aloud.

Luz turned and smiled. “It gets better. Keep reading.”

So Amity did, she read a few more chapters. She watched as Percy slew his teacher who turned into a terrifying beast with a magical sword, she watched as Percy overheard a conversation not meant dir his ears. Amity was captivated, not even noticing Luz’s muttering beside her. Amity’s heart dropped at seeing Percy’s mother around her husband Gabe, a man Amity immediately disliked. Percy’s mother was so caring and loved her son unconditionally. Amity looked down, sadly. 

Amity read on until she got to the part where Percy and his mother were arriving at a beach house. She had to stop. She needed to stretch, her legs were stiff from being in one position for so long. Amity looked over to Luz still engrossed in her work, the page she was writing was almost completely filled with words. A long list of words in English and in a language Amity figured was Italian. Looking at the words, Amity stared blankly at them. They made no sense to her at all. 

“Luz?” Amity tried getting the girls attention. “Luz.” She tried again, louder this time. Luz didn’t even stir. Amity smirked at this nerd of a girl. She was obviously not going to stop anytime soon. Amity sighed, she got to her feet and stretched, her back was tense and ached from disuse.

Amity looked around the room trying to figure out how to spend her time. She needed a small break. Her mind was swimming with thoughts of the day. She’s learned so much about humans today. They had their own religions, they had war and monarchy’s like her own world. They had several similarities, but they also had so many differences. Amity smiled to herself, it felt good to begin to piece together a bit of Luz’s world.

Amity’s smile disappeared, she frowned. She reached into her front pocket and pulled out the purple envelop. Amity opened it up and pulled out the note that Luz had made for her. The dots were still just as confusing to Amity as they were when she first saw them. She placed her fingers on them. They were small, Amity could barely make out the shape of them as she dragged her fingertips across the small line. Amity frowned. What could this possibly mean, she wondered.

Amity racked her brain for any ounce of understanding. Luz had given her hints to help her answer the mystery. She needed to use them if she were to have any hope of figuring this out.

Okay, Amity thought. Let’s review. Luz gave me two hints. One on today in the bookstore and another on the Grudgby field a few days ago. What did Luz say? Me gustas? Yes, that sounded right. There was also Mi piaci. How did these two things fit together? And how did they relate to the card? Amity thought hard, she shouldn’t have assumed this would be easy.

Amity sighed. She pulled out her scroll and checked the time. It was 9:30 and she wasn’t even close to tired enough to sleep. An idea came to here as she looked at her scroll. Amity unlocked her scroll and found her Spello-web app. She clicked inside and went to the search bar. She thought for a moment, considering what to search for. She typed in “Raised dots, writing” Amity clicked search, a second later her results came up. Amity scrolled down, reading the results as she went. “What to do if you find bumps on your skin,” “Seven signs to look for if you think you’ve been poisoned,” “New Skin Cream That Removes Blemishes Like Magic,” Amity snorted, none of these were answers to her question. She should have known this wouldn’t work. This wasn’t her realm, this code or whatever it was, only existed in the Human realm.

Amity dropped her scroll beside her, feeling defeated and at a complete loss. How was she meant to figure this out if the world where the answers existed was out of reach to her. Amity crossed her arms. This was totally unfair. She turned to look at Luz, who was busy writing on another page. How she did this without tiring was beyond her. Amity looked at the dictionary page, the words still confusing to her.

Amity’s eyes widened in realization. She had an idea. She just hoped she could pull it off. She grabbed Luz’s shoulder and shook her lightly. Luz didn’t respond. Amity tried again. “Luz? You there?” Luz turned to look at Amity. “Oh! Sorry Amity. I guess I got a little too absorbed.”

Amity smiled. “That’s okay, Luz. I was just wondering if you were hungry or anything? We’ve been sitting her for a bit and I’m feeling a little snacky. I would go downstairs to make something but I don’t know the place as well as you.” Amity hoped this would work. She was desperate to figure this out but didn’t want Luz in the room to see what she was doing. If she was wasting her time, she didn’t want Luz to see it.

Luz beamed at Amity. “No problem. I think we have something good downstairs to snack on. Hold o, I’ll be back in a minute.” Luz got to her feet and closed the dictionary, her pencil saving her place. Placing the book o the bed, she left the room.

Amity waited only a moment after Luz left, the sounds of the stairs creaking alerting her that Luz was a good distance away. Amity grabbed the book from the bed, her heart was pounding in her chest as she began combing through the pages. “Come on. Come on. Where is it?” Amity’s eyes blurred through the contents, looking for the letter M. She found it quickly. Ma. Me. Me again. Finally, she landed on Mi. The first word on the page was the letters Mi. Amity looked at the word. It was a pronoun word Amity learned and she found the English translation. “Me. It means me.” Amity breathed, she was getting closer. She could feel it. Her ears strained, trying to listen for any signs of Luz returning. Hearing none, Amity quickly got back to searching. The letter p was easy enough to find. But Amity didn’t know how the sounds correlated to sound. By the way the ending sounded, Amity guessed it could have been an I. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Amity decided to roll with it. Pa, no. Pe, also no. Pi. Perfect. Amity zipped through the pages until she found what she thought she was looking for. The word didn’t end in an i like she was hoping, but it was the best she could find. Piacimento which meant liking.

Amity frowned. The word me and liking. That’s a little weird. It didn’t make any grammatical sense. There must be another explanation. Amity scanned the page again, trying to find an answer. She noticed a pattern. There were several of these words that began with the same letters. Piac and piaci. These letters were the closets she could find. Amity found several words to look through. Piacente meant attractive, piacere appeared to mean to like.

Amity’s heart was going wild. She couldn’t hear anything anymore, her heartbeat blocked out all noise. Luz would be back any minute. Each word seemed to relate to liking something. Amity thought about the words. Mi means me and piacere means to like, Amity wondered. Putting the words together, Me to like? That was odd. To-to like? To like me? Amity froze.

Amity couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think straight. She searched around frantically, searching for the card. She found it resting just under her left leg. Picking it up, she inspected it closely. The dots didn’t reveal to much to her. There wasn’t much on it. There was a character that was just a line with three vertical dots. Amity thought hard. It looked like an uncapitalized letter L. Amity considered this for a moment. How were these two things related? 

It happened in an instant. Everything was falling into place. The stairs let out a loud speak meaning that Luz was on her way and would be here any second. The door creaked open and Luz walked in holding a large bowl.

“Sorry, it took me a minute. I found a packet of popcorn that I stashed away in one of Eda’s cupboards. I packed some in my bag before I ended up here. It’s been so long, but this stuff lasts forever.” She noticed Amity sitting on the floor, a book was open on her lap and she hadn’t responded to Luz’s entrance.

“Amity?” Luz said, concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Amity say anything at first, she just sat quietly there not looking at Luz. She finally managed to say, “I think I’ve solved your riddle.” Amity’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Did you?” Luz said.

“Is-Is it true?” Amity asked, her voice was high in her throat. “Did you really mean it?” Amity forced her eyes to look directly at Luz. “The book, the letter, they all say. They all mean.” She didn’t finish, and Luz said.

“I like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French Translations:
> 
> “Bienvenue dans mon sanctuaire.” (Welcome to my sanctuary.)
> 
> I read and finished The Lightning Thief today in preparation for writing this chapter. I forgot just how much I adored Rick Riordan’s writing. He’s definitely one of my literary heroes. 
> 
> The quote used in this chapter is from a very difficult but beautiful book that I would highly recommend reading. The book is called Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. Thank you for reading.
> 
> Bye for now.


	8. Comfort

“I like you.” Luz said, she gave Amity a small smile.

Amity’s ears were ringing and her world felt like it was spinning. She-she likes me? That’s what she said. I can’t believe it. What do I do? You need to say something. Don’t leave the girl waiting. All of these thoughts raced through Amity’s mind in a matter of seconds. Her mouth was dry and her palms were shaking slightly.

Amity blinked, she blinked again. Luz was still there, watching her with those big brown eyes of hers.

“How-how long?” Amity couldn’t finish, still dumbfounded.

Luz shrugged, “I honestly don’t know the exact moment when it happened. It just sort of happened, I guess. A few months ago, maybe.”

Amity’s heart was racing. She was scared. This has never happened to her before. No one has ever approached her confessed they had feelings for her. This was vastly uncharted territory and Amity was completely underwater.

Luz sat the popcorn down on her desk before speaking. “Honestly, it took me a long time to work up the courage to say anything. I didn’t know if you felt the same way or if I would one day have to return home. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

“Luz.” Amity said quietly, she was stunned that Luz was being so vulnerable now. “But why be so cryptic? Why not just come out and say it instead of giving me all of these hints in languages only you understand?” 

Luz smiled and chuckled softly. “Truth is, I was scared of you knowing how I felt. I thought me acknowledging it without you knowing would be easier.” She paused, a wave of sadness washed across her face. “I haven’t been home in over a year now. I’m the only human living in the Boiling Isles, there’s no one else like me. It just felt,” her voice broke. “so isolating. I wanted to bring a part of my world here.” She gestured to the book in Amity’s lap. “That there. That’s a different kind of magic to me. Something only I can do. It’s beautiful and magical, and in my own way, I wanted to share it with someone. I wanted someone to see my world the way that I see it.” Her eyes dropped to the floor. 

After a moment of silence where neither of them spoke, Luz started again. “In my world, a girl liking another girl, it’s not really seen as a positive thing. People like me are ostracized and often hared and misunderstood by others. It’s getting better, sure. But, I mean.” Luz’s eyes brimmed with tears. “If you are a boy kissing another boy, you get beaten in the streets. You stay awake at night wondering if your parents will love you if they find out. If a girl likes another girl, guys find that hot and you can find yourself harassed. A boy wants to wear a dress and be seen as the girl they feel they are inside, they get shot. I-I couldn’t.” Luz is openly crying now, tears were streaming down her face. “It’s not safe to be someone like me. I couldn’t risk saying anything here because I’m already seen as an abomination. I didn’t need to add this on top of that.” Luz was shaking violently now. “I was just so alone for such a long time. I have you, and Willow, Gus, and Eda, and that’s great. But it isn’t the same as having my mamí. Simplemente ya no quiero estar solo.” Luz fell to her knees, tears were rushing down her face and she couldn’t make them stop. Everything was hitting her all at once. Her feelings for Amity, her desperately missing her mother, the feeling of isolation and constant fear. It all came crashing down on top of her.

Luz didn’t register much of what was going on around her, she sobs and salty tears stinging her eyes were the only things she could identify. She didn’t notice Amity sitting in front of her, she didn’t notice Amity wrapping her arms around her and bringing her into a hug. She did notice Amity rubbing the bag of her head and whispering softly in her ear.

Amity was holding the sad girl in her arms, tears were in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. This girl needed someone. Amity slowly began rocking Luz. Her sobs were beginning to lessen but her breathing was shaky and unsteady.

“Lo siento. Lo siento, Amity.” Luz chocked out. Amity didn’t say anything, she just held the girl tightly in her arms. The two girls sat there like that for a long while, neither girl spoke. Luz had stopped crying for a few minutes but didn’t move away from Amity.

Amity was absolutely speechless. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing from Luz. She also couldn’t believe how harsh the Human Realm could be. She was horrified at what she was hearing and her heart ached when she remembered that Luz had to go through. The girl has given up so much in her short life. More than most will ever have to. She was alone in a world that wasn’t her own and she didn’t know if she’d ever see it again. The burdens Luz has had to carry, the isolation. A lump formed in Amity’s throat just thinking about it. 

This girl was confessing her feelings to her and sharing herself in such an intimate way with only Amity was a gift. She was not going to let a gift like this to go unnoticed. This was too precious and too important to not acknowledge and show just how much this gift truly meant to Amity. She made up her mind on the spot.

So, she cleared her throat, the lump in her throat disappearing, and plucked up her Blight family courage, “Hey?” Amity said quietly into the girl’s ear. This was for her ears and her ears alone. “Mi piaci, Luz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translations:
> 
> “Simplemente ya no quiero estar solo.” (I simply don’t want to be alone anymore.)  
> “Lo siento.” (I’m sorry.)
> 
> This chapter is short and bittersweet. The secrets out and a lot of things come up for Luz. She’s vulnerable and scared, and Amity made it her mission to comfort Luz as she processed her emotions.
> 
> I wanted this chapter to be much longer. It’s the finale, that’s what you typically expect to see. However, at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. I liked how it ended. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and confessions can be unexpected and messy. They aren’t always clean and polished.
> 
> If you are still confused about the card. It was in fact Braille. Why Luz knows anything about Braille is her business. If she wants to tell us then she certainly can. I’ll let you know if she tells me the story. 
> 
> This story was a blast to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you are interested in reading more Owl House content, there is a story currently in pre-production in my head that I’m excited to work on.
> 
> Thanks for reading.  
> Bye for now.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so curious to hear what you folks think. I had this idea earlier today and I just had to share it. I wonder if you all can guess what Luz was doing in the beginning. It’s not well known by the majority of people. I will give a hint. It’s not a language, but a code. 
> 
> I will be providing translations for any non-English content as I assume the majority of people here don’t speak any other foreign language. I hope you al, enjoy this story. The rating may change depending on where this story takes me.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Bye for now.


End file.
